Cozy • An Embry Story

.15

Winnie's POV

Embry was right. We are seeing each other less and less.

For most of the week he's been trying his best to take me to and from work, while taking care of his mom, helping Paul and all the while working. If Embry is able to bring me to work in the morning, then he can't in the afternoon. Or if I find a way to work he tries to give me a ride after. If I do see him it's only when the car is in drive, with him quickly taking off after.

When Embry can't, Jacob does me the favor. Today when he dropped me off he assured me how I'll soon be driving again by the end of the week, and how that my car was nearly ready.

"Hey," Stopping at the kitchen, I try to talk and run an arm load of dishes. Another waitress, Maisie from Forks helps me bring the plates to a crowded table of seven. "Maisie, can I ask you a question?"

"If that trucker at table five is checking you out and not being subtle about it?" Maisie shoots, subtly throwing a glare in the man's direction without anyone noticing that takes years of training.

"He's checking me out? Gross." I try to keep up with her. For someone so short you have to nearly jog to keep up with her. Maisie is our veteran waitress, she's been waitressing at the lodge since she was fifteen. She is probably the toughest out of all of us. Maisie sweet talks the best, walks the fastest, and hustles the most out of all of the whole staff. Maisie trained me herself when I was hired in my junior year. She even use to drive me home before I got Enola's car, even though it added an extra thirty minutes to her drive back to Forks.

"If he bothers you Winnie, you let me know." She states before immediately breaking our conversation to chirp happily at the table, then immediately picks it up again when we walk off after making sure they don't need anything else. "So what did you wanna ask me?"

"Well," I swallow the the lump my tongue is twisting into. "You know how my car has been in the shop?"

"Yeah, it's been there for almost two weeks. Why you need a ride home? Not a problem." Maisie immediately fixes a problem which is very like her. I jog after her towards the dish station.

"Thanks Maisie, but I actually need help with something else... like paying for the repairs. Do you know how I can get some extra cash?"

"I do, but you're not going to like it, Winnie." Her knowing smirk is warning me, but I ask anyway.

"How much exactly am I not going to like it?" I wince.

"You're going to hate it." The twenty eight year old chuckles. "See, I waitress part-time at a bar, who could use some extra shifts picked up."

"Okay," I shrug. I'm not one for working bars, but a gig is a gig.

"But, you're gonna hate the uniform, let me tell you that."

"Why?"

"Because, I work at Hooters, and let me tell you, that pays." The word no is ready at the tip of my tongue, but stalls at my teeth. God, do I want to say no. Last place I should work at with my reputation is a Hooters. But I have to find a way to pay Jacob, I haven't paid him for towing my car and that was weeks ago.

"I don't have the uniform." I use the first excuse that comes to mind, trying to convince myself not Maisie.

"There's spares. They'll give you something to borrow." She immediately amends the problem, because that's what Maisie does best.
"I didn't do my makeup today." I never wear makeup, which Maisie knows.